Warren Buffett to donate $140 billion of Berkshire Hathaway shares to family foundations

Warren Buffett, the 95‑year‑old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, announced a plan to transfer all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway shares, valued at roughly $140 billion, to four family‑run foundations by December 31 2034. An initial transfer of about $6 billion in Class B shares took place on July 14 2026, with the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation receiving the largest portion (around $4.5 billion) and the Sherwood, Howard G. Buffett and NoVo foundations each receiving roughly $0.5 billion. Buffett will retain his Class A shares, which hold almost all voting power, thereby preserving his control of the company. The plan replaces his earlier estate arrangement that would have distributed the wealth over a decade after his death. Notably, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is excluded from the new donations for the first time in more than twenty years. The gradual transfer is designed to avoid a sudden surge of Berkshire shares on the market.

The move represents the largest philanthropic commitment in U.S. history and signals a shift in how Buffett’s fortune will be allocated, focusing on his family foundations rather than external charities.